1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the construction of a windshield wiper frame and more particularly, to an improved windshield wiper frame having at least one pair of horizontally elongated vanes extending downwardly and at a slant from the rear edge of the top portion of at least one horizontally elongated opening disposed on the top of the bridge of the wiper frame. These vanes direct the flow of air through the holes in the bridge, thereby increasing air pressure on the wiper blade and improving the performance of the windshield wiper assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of windshield wiper frames for a windshield assembly are well known. Such windshield wiper frames include a bridge, a pair of primary yokes pivotally connected to the bridge, a pair of secondary yokes pivotally connected to one end of each primary yoke, a mounting stay mounted on the other end of each primary yoke and mounting stays mounted on each end of the secondary yokes. However, such prior art wiper frames suffer from poor cleaning performance of the windshield wiper blade due to inadequate pressure on the windshield glass.
In order to improve cleaning performance, one known windshield wiper frame as shown in FIG. 1 , is equipped with a bridge having a pair of vanes extending up from the rear walls thereof. However, this wiper frame suffers from a number of problems. For example, as air flowing past the vehicle presses down on the pair of vanes, the entire upper portion of the wiper frame is also pressed down toward the glass, causing the entire frame to pivot slightly. Therefore, the lower portion of the wiper frame, and the wiper blade itself may be lifted slightly away from the glass, thereby preventing the wiper blade from effectively cleaning the convex surface of the windshield glass. This pivoting can result in decreased operational life of the wiper arm. In addition, the known bridge with vanes lacks openings disposed on the top of the bridge. These openings are needed to maintain the pressure balance on the two sides of the bendable lip of the blade so as to achieve an effective cleaning operation.